Masdar, Japan bank to invest in renewables

Abu Dhabi, January 16, 2012

Masdar Capital, the private equity arm of Abu Dhabi based renewable energy company Masdar, plans to form a renewable energy project platform, in partnership with Development Bank of Japan (DBJ).

The MoU, signed during the opening day of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, envisages an equal share partnership with investments focused on commissioned solar and wind projects within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations, with a specific geographic focus on North America and Europe.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, said: “Masdar Capital’s collaboration with DBJ through the renewable energy project platform signals a clear cooperation between our two countries that are actively partnering to diversify our energy mix through renewable energy. Given the lack of financing available to fund operational renewable energy projects, it is an opportune time to invest in projects that can provide stable returns to Masdar Capital and DBJ.”

He continued: “Masdar has forged a strong relationship with Japan over the last three years and Masdar Capital has welcomed investments in our second fund from a number of esteemed Japanese investors.

“Partnerships are a critical part of Masdar's business model as we look to collaborate with the best partners to diversify our future energy mix. Masdar typically looks to work with those who have strong domain knowledge and a consistent and extensive track record when signing into a partnership.”

This partnership represents one of Masdar’s commitments to the Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

Masdar Capital and DBJ both plan to commit significant capital to a platform that will target stable returns from investing in renewable energy operating assets that utilise bankable technologies. This platform will look to make minority equity investments in operational assets, targeting assets managed by reputed players in the renewable energy space, said a statement.

Initially, this platform will target onshore wind and solar PV assets in countries with relatively low sovereign risk. A pipeline of over 1GW of operational solar and wind assets fitting the platform’s mandate have already been identified.

Masdar Capital, an Abu Dhabi based asset management company, currently has over $540 million invested across the Masdar Clean Tech Fund and DB Masdar Clean Tech Fund, jointly managed with partners. Masdar has also partnered with Japan on a number of other initiatives including the Beam Down Project, a joint pilot project of the Masdar Institute, Japan’s Cosmo Oil Company and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. – TradeArabia News Service